That would be a huge nerf and its not really needed. Rear Echelon can repair the tank just fine especially with Veterancy.
Rear Echelon get 30% increased Repair Speed at Vet 2. They also get an extra squad member at Vet 3 which also increases the repair speed.
Assault Engineers don't provide anything to the Pershing especially when you factor in Combined Arms wouldn't work well with them either compared with Rangers.
i disagree. you get asss engies sooner than rangers, which allows you to work them organically into your build. they are also more aggressive than RE early game AND more durable, this gives you more bite early on.
thy repair faster than RE also.
they also give you mines, which helps you cover your pershing when falling back for repairs. (yea rifles get them but its so slow now)
they also have critical repair which IMO the the thing that the pershing misses out on most when losing the crew.
in turn the things that Ass engies bring really play to
lessen help offset or mitigate the weaknesses of the pershing and thus allow it to press its advantages a bit more.
imo what the commander would lose from the raw power of rangers it would gain from the utility and synergy that ass engies would bring.
a major design consideration for USF is their ability to get back into the fight faster than their enemy, something that the pershing, despite be balanced armound lacks its own capacity to do. ass engies would help with that imo.
the unit isnt bad, but the commander, aside from combined arms, doesnt really do it a lot of favors.
additionally the smoke barrage combined with ass engies could really be a neat combination...
imo it just flows better adn the abilities would work better together